Under the charismatic businessman’s four-decade leadership through 2021, the firm’s sales grew more than 10-fold.
Osamu Suzuki, born on January 30, 1930, in the central Japanese region of Gifu, married into the firm’s founding family and later became its president in 1978.
Calling himself an old man at a small business, he focused on building lightweight “kei” vehicles, many of which became big hits for fuel efficiency and easy-to-handle quality.
Osamu also actively sought international partners and opportunities overseas to expand his business.
The carmaker once tied up with General Motors and Volkswagen and also forged a capital alliance with Toyota in 2019.
He expanded in India, where the company’s subsidiary now occupies the top market position.
When he retired as the firm’s chairman in 2021, the company’s sales stood at 3.18 trillion yen.
According to a business daily, when Osamu took over the company in 1978, the firm’s sales stood at 323 billion yen.